1. Field of the Disclosure
The present subject matter relates to vehicle suspension systems and components thereof. More particularly, the present subject matter relates to spring seats of leaf spring suspensions.
2. Description of Related Art
Leaf springs are commonly used as active components in vehicle suspensions. Examples of suspensions using a leaf spring are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,938,221; 7,744,105; and 8,177,246, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
One possible shortcoming of known leaf spring suspensions is the weight of the components of the system required to secure the leaf spring with respect to an axle of the vehicle. Typically, the suspension includes a spring seat that is secured directly to the axle, with the leaf spring sandwiched between the spring seat and a top cap. The top cap is secured to the spring seat by a plurality of bolts (in some cases, U-bolts), which must be positioned fore and aft of the axle to prevent interference between the bolts and the axle. This arrangement increases the size of the spring seat and top cap, which increases the total weight of the spring seat and top cap.
Additionally, this arrangement increases the percentage of the leaf spring that is clamped in place between the spring seat and the top cap. The clamped portion of the leaf spring either cannot bend or cannot bend as freely as the unclamped portions of the leaf spring, which renders the leaf spring less effective at performing its intended function. This may require the length of the leaf spring to be increased to reduce the spring rate of the leaf spring to a suitable level, but doing so may be undesirable (due to increased weight and material costs), if not impossible due to the packaging constraints of the vehicle.
Accordingly, it is desirable to overcome one or more of the foregoing shortcomings, or alternatively other shortcomings not specified herein but associated with prior leaf spring suspensions.